NELSONVILLE, Ohio — Nelsonville’s charter council has two open seats after it removed the council president from his position Monday, Nov. 9, and as another member tendered her resignation.
The council voted to remove former council president Cameron Peck from his position Monday, and he resigned immediately after. Council member Nancy Sonick also resigned last week. The city is now accepting letters of interest for its two vacant seats.
In October, a Nelsonville resident and council members Nic Joseph-Saul, McCray Powell and Sonick called for Peck to step down as president due to what Powell described as “the way that he engages with the public and other council members and city employees.” The inciting incident for the October discussion was a social media comment in which Peck responded to a resident’s concern by calling him “an insestious millionaire” with early onset dementia.
Powell on Monday initiated a vote on Peck’s removal from his position after the council heard a public comment submitted online by former Nelsonville treasurer Michael Milane that asked for updates on calls for his resignation. The city’s law director clarified that the vote would remove Peck from his role as president, but not from the council entirely.
Milane said Peck’s leadership “has damaged public confidence in city government” and asked the council to consider replacing Peck if he refused to resign voluntarily.
“I respectfully request that these comments be entered into the public record and the council provide substantive to the questions raised,” Milane wrote.
The motion to remove Peck initially received votes from council members Clement, Joseph-Saul, Powell, and Hollenbaugh. Council member Charlotte Beach abstained, encouraging council members to consider what she saw as Peck’s personal growth since he was first appointed to the position.
“If you recall, I didn’t vote for you as president from the get-go,” Beach said. “I just need to acknowledge that you have improved and for that I’m very proud of you.”
Clement criticized Beach’s choice to abstain, calling it “inappropriate.” Following further discussion, Beach changed her vote to a yes.
Peck announced his resignation effective 7:40 p.m. — immediately after the vote. Peck briefly left the room before returning moments later and addressing the council.
“Nobody enjoys working with you guys,” Peck said. “Honestly, the administration can’t stand working with any of you guys. You have almost failed this administration.”
“Are you refusing to come to order, then?” Joseph-Saul asked. Police Chief Devon Tolliver intervened briefly, approaching Peck as he continued to speak to the council. Peck told Tolliver not to touch him, but left the council chamber without resisting.
Clement said it would “not be appropriate” to appoint a new president immediately. Council Vice President McCray Powell assumed the role for the remainder of the meeting.
“As this meeting is wrapping up, I’m feeling much less stressed than I have at prior meetings even though this meeting was quite intense anyways,” Powell said at the meeting’s close. “I believe that our best days really are ahead of us.”
The previous week, former council member Nancy Sonick resigned just hours after the council finished a special meeting on Monday, Nov. 2. The special meeting was called to go over ordinances that were tabled in the interest of time during a late night regular session. Council members at the Nov. 9 meeting read a letter from Sonick announcing her resignation at the meeting’s start.
“The friendship I have shared with you all means a lot has meant a lot. I wish you all the best, and continue to do your best for my hometown,” Sonick wrote. Her letter did not specify why she chose to resign. She did not respond to a Nov. 12 phone call from the Independent seeking additional clarification by press time.
Later, during discussion over his removal, Peck said he thought the council had been working well together in recent weeks.
Joseph-Saul disagreed, pointing to Sonick’s resignation, which Joseph-Saul said suggested the opposite.
“I don’t know if I would agree with the assessment that the conduction of the Nov. 2 special meeting in particular was an example of this body working as efficiently and organized as it could have been,” Joseph-Saul said. “In fact, it was so embarrassing in fact that we had a council member resign that night, without even sleeping on it.”
Before the council headed into an executive session at the meeting’s end, Clement said the charter council will take letters of interest ahead of the next regularly occurring council meeting Nov. 23. At that meeting, the council will conduct interviews and potentially make appointments for the vacant seats.
Ordinances on first reading
The council read the following ordinances for the first time:
- Ordinance 111-26 will enter the city into an agreement with the Ohio State Auditor’s Office in order to have its finances audited.
- Ordinance 112-26 will establish the staff positions that will exist within city departments starting Jan. 1, 2027.
- Ordinance 114-26 will approve a 4% increase in sewer rates. This will increase the in-town base sewer rate for 1,500 gallons from $21.95 to $22.83.
- Ordinance 118-26 will amend the city’s water loss abatement program, increasing the premiums paid to policy holders in the case of leaks or water loss from $40 for $500 to $60 for $1,000.
Resolution 2383 will authorize the city manager to advertise two city-owned properties for bids. Gregg Clement asked for clarification on how the city came to own the properties, which are located at 532 and 524 Patton St.
City Manager Dannette Miller said the properties were acquired in 2019 from Ronnie Klein, but “there’s not any documentation showing how she did that.” Clement moved to table the resolution to allow the city’s law director to review the documentation.
Ordinances adopted
Ordinance 54-26, which makes amendments to the Nelsonville Police Department Policy Manual regarding public record requests, was re-introduced for a third reading after the ordinance was referred for further legal review at the end of September.
The new policy institutes fees for costs associated with the processing of records requests, setting caps at $75 per hour of processing footage or at $750 as a total fee for a single request. The ordinance was adopted on the third reading.
Ordinance 110-26 approved a collective bargaining agreement between the city and the International Association of Fire Fighters on behalf of the Nelsonville Fire Department. The ordinance was adopted on first reading, under suspension of the rules.
Ordinance 115-26 ordered two structures — one at 53 and another at 75 Clinton St. — to be razed.
Powell said he wanted discussion of future ordinances calling for the razing of buildings to include a “narrative” provided by city Code Enforcement Officer Austin Kelley.
“I would just feel much more comfortable answering to the public on why we dispense with two readings,” Powell said. The ordinance was adopted on first reading under suspension of the rules.
Ordinance 116-26 made appropriations of $5,341 for electrical maintenance costs. City Auditor Brian Elkins said the ordinance would pay for repairs that had already been performed on a utility pole that was damaged in a car accident earlier this year.
Ordinance 117-26 created a part-time, fill-in-only position for a human resources/payroll coordinator. The fill-in-only human resources/payroll coordinator will only be assigned work when the employee in the regular position is absent, and will be compensated at an hourly rate of $25/hour.
The statutory council’s next meeting will be at 7 p.m. Monday, Nov. 16, at The Lodge at Hocking College, 15770 SR 691, Nelsonville. It meets the first and third Mondays of the month.
The charter-based council meets every other Monday of each month, at Nelsonville City Council Chambers, 211 Lake Hope Drive, Nelsonville. Its next regular meeting will be at 7 p.m. Monday, Nov. 23.
